philbin



EL ,mmuli m Nov. 10, 1925' 1,561,277

H. J. PHILBIN AUTOMATIC CONTROLLING MECHANISM FOR WATER HEATERS Filed Nov. 3, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet l 110570] zao I I; 26

.J 64- MAMA Q Z nvern gr NOV- 10,

H. J. PHIILBIN AUTOMATIC CONTROLLING MECHANISM FOR WATER HEATERS Filed Nov.

5. 1922 2 Sheets-Shae: 2

Patented Nov. 10, 1925 neural J. remain, or separate, max.

AUTOMA'HIQ GQNTBOIILING' truceamennon WATER THEATERS.

Application fileqs November 3, 1922., Serial No. 598,756:

To all whom it. may. comm-inv Be. it known that l; HENRY Ji. Pirimsm, a citizen of the United States, residing in Buffalo, in the county of? Erie and. State of: New York, haveinnented new and useful Improvements in] Antoni ati c Controlling Mechanism foi Water Heaters, of? which the; following is a specificat-ion This invention relates. to an automatic controlling mechanism for water heaters;

Automatic waterheaters, as: heretofore constructed are objectionable on account of the employment oh a thermostat which operatesithegassupply valve anda separate water valve whereby the attendant can check thev flow of water for increasing-the-heatingefi'ect: on the same,- and no means are provided whereby the heat of the water may be conveniently adjusted by the attendant without varying the discharge of water. It follows froln this that when the discharge faucet in these prion automatic water heaters is opened only a little oi the heater gets a full supply oi gas until' the water reaches a predetermined temperature which results in wasting the used in heatingthe water-inthie coils; because this water soon cools offand becomes chilled, unless the discharge valve is again open-ed shortly 1 afterward.

It is the-object of thisinventionito provide an automatic controlling mechanism for water heaters whichavoids the above mentioned obj ections by controlling the supply of heating agent in responsetova-riations in pressure of the wa-ter instead of controlling the same thermostatically,- also by enabling the attendantto-readily adjust the degree of temperature at whichfthe water is to be delivered without wasting-the heating agent, and accomplishingthis-purpose by means which are comparatively simple in construction, eiiicientin operation, capable of being manufactvred at low cost, and not liable to get; out or" order.

In the accompanying drawings:- Figure l is an elevation, on a reduced scale,- showing my invention combined with a water heaterin which the heat is derived from a gas burner. Figure 2 is a vei-ticallongi-tudinal-section of'the controlling mechanism, onan enlarged scale. Figure 3 isa fragmentary side elevationoi the upper 'port-i'en of the controllingmechanisin', Figure 4- is a horizontal section taken on the correspondinglynumbered line in Fig. 2: Figure 5 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on line 5%5 '2. Figuret is a fragmentary vertioala section, on an" enlarged scale, of the means 'ior-detachablyconnecting. the shutter arm and the hand operating spindle; Figure 7 is a verticah section; takeni on line-7+7; Fig; 6. Figure 8 is' a diagrammatic View; showing the manner of utilizing an electric heater in connection with my inyentioni Similar characters of reference referto like partsthroughout the several views.

The: organization of theautOmat'ic controlling mechanism for water heaterswhich is illustrated in F-i'gs; 1-7" comprises;aoperated water heater, a regulating valve for controlling the supply of gasto. the heater and an automatic controlling mechanism which is responsive to variationsin the amount; of water supplied to the heater and which operatesthegas-regulating valve.

Theheater may be of any suitable construction and only a typical form of" the same is: therefore shown in the drawings by the representation of a coil lO whic-h has its upper inlet end connected with a supply pipe whileits lower out-let-end is provided with adischarge faucet or valve 11 and a gas burner 12 arranged below tlie coiliandadapted to direct its flame-against this coil'for-the purpose of 'heating the water passing therethrough.

The gas regulating valve may also-be of any suitableconstruction; but as-shown in Fig. 2, the same comprises a casing 13 whi ch is divided'internally by a partition 14*so as to form an inlet chamber- 15" on one side oi": this partition which is connected with a gas supply pipe 16 and an outlet chamber 17 on the opposite side of the partition which is connected by means of a delivery pipe 1.8-with the burner 12. The partition 14. is provided with a cylindrical valveseat 19 having ports 20 extending therethrough from the bore, of this valve seat to the outlet chamber 17 which ports are pre'ferably oi v-shaped form in a direction lengthwise of the seat and-have their narrow'end's at the upper or front end of the valve seat and the wide parts at the lower; or-rear end of this seat. Within-thecylindrical'valve seat is' arrangedapiston valve 21- which is movablelength-wise therein and which when raisedinto its uppermost position in engagement with" the front orupp'er part of the valve seat, operates to entirely close the ports 20, but which when lowered or moved rearwardly more or less will uncover the ports 20 accordingly and permit a corresponding amount of gas to flow from the inlet chamber of the regulating valve through these ports and into the outlet chamber "for supplying the burner 12 with a proportionate amount of gas. constructing the gas ports 20 of if-shaped form in the cylindrical seat of the valve, as shown, the opening of the valve will be very gradual and permits or" a gradual increase in the amount of gas which is Slipplied to the burner so as to insure a more steady working of the same under all conditions, regardless of whether the same is working under a small gas supply or a large gas supply. 7'

The valve piston 21 actuated for controlling the gas supply by an automatic controlling mechanism which is responsive to pressure of the water which is supplied to the heating coil 10.

This automatic controlling mechanism, a practical embodiment of which is shown in Figs. l7, is preferably constructed as follows 22 represents a cylinder which has its closed upper end connected by a pipe 23 with means which supply water under pres sure from any suitable source while the lower end of this cylinder is opened. Surrounding this cylinder is a receiving chamber 24, which communicates constantly with the lower end of this cylinder and which is connected with the inlet end of the coil 10 of the water heater. in one part of the periphery of the cylinder, the same is provided with a transfer port whereby the upper or front end of the cylinder may be connected with the receiving cha:=.-iber this transfer port being preferably constructed in the i orin ot' a plurality oi" opening :25 which are arranged side b side in a red tangular group in the circ i'ierential portion of the cylinder and 0 ends from the bore to the periphery therei as shown in Figs. 2, 41- and 5.

Within the cylinder :2 is arranged a lon gitudinally reciprocati piston 26 which is operatively connected with the valve piston 21 actuating the latter and also operates as a valve for uncovering more or less of the port area of the openings constituting the transfer port This controll piston 26 is connected with tl e regulating valve piston 21 by a connecting rod which is preterabl y constructed in sections and which con;- prises an upper section 2'? extending lengthwise through a stuiling box 28 in the bottom of the receiving chamber 21% and having its upper end connected to the head of the controller piston 26, a lower connecting rod section 29 extending through a stufiing box 30 in the top of the valve casing 13, and a pressure within the receiving chamber of this chamber while its upper end engages v with a sleeve 35 surrounding the rod section 27 and bearing against the underside of the head of the controller piston 26. When the controlling piston 26 is in its highest position, as shown in Fig. 2, its cylindrical skirt or body 36 covers the uppermost openings 25 of the transfer port in the wall of the controlling cylinder 26 so that no water at this time is permitted to pass from the inlet pipe 23 into the receiving chamber 24. When the controlling piston is in this position the valve piston 21 is also raised into its highest position, as shown in Fig. 2, and extends across the upper parts of the ports 20, so as to completely shut olt communication between the gas supply pipe 16 and the gas delivery pipe 18.

Extending through the head of the controller piston is a by-pass consisting preterably of a plurality of ports or openings 37. These by-pass ports or openings are controlled by a by-pass valve 38 engaging with the valve seat formed on the underside of the controller piston at the inlet ends of the ports 37 and yieldingly held in engagement with this seat for closing these ports by means of a valve stem 4-0 connected with the valve 38 and guided in the controller piston 26, and a spring 39 surrounding the valve sten'idO and bearing at its lower end against the piston 26 while its upper end bears against a shoulder 41 on the valve stem -10, as shown in Fig. 2.

When the valve 11 at the discharge end of the water heating coil is closed and no water is being withdrawn from the heater, the pistons 26 and 21 are in their uppermost positions thereby cutting oil' communication between the water supply pipe 23 and the water heating coil and also completely shutting oil the supply of gas to the burner through the regulating valve. Upon opening the discharge valve ll of the heater for permitting the How of water therefrom, the

which is the same as that on the underside oi the controller piston 26 is: reduced compared with the pressure of the water supply in the pipe against the upper side of this piston which differential in pressure causes this piston 26 to be depressed together with the regulating valve piston 2i. When this occurs the controller piston 26 uncovers the uppermost openings 01" port area 25 so as to permit water under pressure to flow from the supply pipe 23 into the receiving chamber 24 and through the coil 10 of the heater and out through the discharge valve of the same. At the same time, the gas regulating valve piston 21 uncovers the upper narrow part of the gas supply ports 20 and permits a flow of gas from the supply line 16 to the delivery line 18, which latter carries the same to the burner 12, where it is ignited by a pilot light 42 which is constantly lit, thereby causing the flame at the burner 12 to heat the water in the coil 10 while the same is running therethrough. This pilot light is connected by means of a pipe 43 with a supply pipe 16 and provided with a valve ts for controlling the same in the usual and well known manner.

If the discharge valve is only open part way to pirmit the discharge of a moderate amount of water, the controller piston 26 will only be depressed the requisite extent to uncover so much of the transfer port area 25 as is necessary to supply the amount of water desired, and the regulating valve pis ton 21 is also depressed only so much as is necessary to supply the amount of gas for hiating the volume of water passing through the heating coil 10. If the dischargevalve 11 is opened to a greater extent, when alarger volume of water is desired, then the controller piston 26 is depressed a proportionately greater extnt by the pressure of the water coming in through the pipe 28, whereby the piston 26 uncovers a greater area of the transfer port 25, in order to allow a correspondingly increasid volume of water to pass from the supply pipe 23 into the receiving chamber 24 which latter leads to the heating coil and discharge valve 11. At the same time the regulating piston valve 21 of the gas valve is moved downwardly a proportionately grater 'extent so as to uncover the valveports 20 over a correspondingly larger area and permit more gas to flow to the burner 12 in propor tion to the increased volume of water which is passing through the heating coils. By this means uniform heating of the water is insured regardless of whether the amount withdrawn is large or small.

During this downward movement of the controll' r piston 26, the by-pass valve 38 is held in its closed position by the spring 39, although it is immaterial if the same should open slightly or leak, inasmuch as a greater area of the controller piston 26 is exposed to the water pressure in the upper end ofthe cylinder 22 as compared with the area of the by-pass valve 38, which is exposed to the pressure that this piston will nevertheless be moved downwardly under the force of this pressure for opening the transfer ports 25 more or less as above described.

During. this downward movement of the controller piston 26, the spring is compressed more or less, the same tends constantly to raise this piston and the parts connected therewith. Upon closing the discharge valve 11, so that no more water escapes from the receiviig chamber through the coil of the water heater, the Water pressure against the upper or front and the lower or rear sides of the piston, 26 is balanced, but owing to the resilience of the spring which is under compression, this piston will be raised thereby until in aches its uppermost position. This upward movement of the piston 26 this time under the action of the spring is permitted by reason of the bypas valve 38 the spring 39 of which is much lighter than that of the spring 34 and therefore permits the by-pass 38 to open and allow the water in the upper end of the cylinder 22 to pass through the bypass ports 37 to the lower end of this cylinder and thus enable the piston 26 to be promptly raised by the spring Si l into its uppermost position, After the piston 26 has reached the position just described, the by-pass valve 38 is again closed automatically by a spring 39 and communication is cut, off between the water supply pipe 23 and the receiving chamber 2% by reason of the piston 26 extending over the upprrmost openings of the transfer ports 25, at the same time the gas valve 21. completely covers the gas ports 2Q. The supply of gas to the burner 12 is now shut off and further. heating of the water is ar rested, but the parts are in position to again fllfiifihfi supply of, gas to the burner 12 in proportion, to the amount of water which is withdrawn from the coil lOupon opening the discharge valve 11.

In ordr to permit of regulating the temperature to which the water is heated by the burner, means are provided for varying the port area of the transfer port 25 so that the controlling piston 26 will need to travel downwardly only a short distance for supplying the necessary heat, for a certain amount of water but will be obliged to travtl downwardly a greater distance for supplying a greater amount of fuel and therefore a correspondingly increased amount of heat for the same amount of water.

The preferred mechanism forthis purpose which is shown in, the drawings is merely typical of one suitable for this purpose and as there shown, the same is constructed as follows:

15 is a shutter. preferably of curvedform, which is adapted to slide circumferentially around the exterior of the cylinder 22 so that the same may cover or uncover avgreater or smaller number of the group, of, openings forming the portarea25. This shutter may be guided in any suitable manner, but as shown, the same slides at its upper and lower erges in guideways formed by rabbets 46 on the outer peripheral part of the cylinder above and below the port area 25 and guide strips l7 connected with the cylinder by screws or other suitable means. The shifting oif this shutter circumferentially on the cylinder may be el'l ected from the exterior of the receiving chamber by various means, those shown in the drawings compri ing a reel; arm at) arranged between me cylinder and the adjacent wall of the re ceivii chamber 2% and operatively connected with the shutter and a spindle 50 coupled with the rock arm a9 and operable from the exterior of the receiving chamber. The rock arm has its free end provided with a slot 51 which receives a pin 52 on the shutter and the same is preferably mounted by means of a pin 52 arranged at its lower end and rotatably mounted in an opening in the lower part of the cylinder 22 the hub of this rock arm engaging the outer side 01' the cylinder 22, as best shown in Fig. 6. The spindle 50 extends through and is journalerl in a smiling box 5& on the side of the receiving chamber 24 and is provided at its outer end with a hand wheel 55 for operating the same, while its inner end is provided with a collar 56 which engages with the inner side of the chamber 2st and is also provided with a flat sided key 57 which engages with a diametrical slot 58 on the hub of the rock arm 49 for the purpose of coupling the spindle with this arm. By means of this adjusting device the shutter may be moved circumferentially on the periphery of the cylinder 22 whenever desired for the purpose of com pelling the piston 26 to travel various distances for supplying various amounts of gas in accordance with the temperature at which this amount of water is to be heated.

Obviously this is due to the fact that when the shutter is moved in such a position that it covers up a considerable amount of port area 25, the piston 26 moves downwardly a greater extent in order to uncover a greater amount of the longitudinally arranged port area which is not covered b i the shutter, so as to obtain the amount of water desired according to the opening of the valve 11 and the required depression of the gas piston valve 21 for securing the proportionate amount of gas required to furnish the desired heat, while upon moving the shutter 45 into such a position that it uncovers a greater amount of the port area 25 then the piston 26 will not have to travel downwardly so far before it uncovers a sufficient amount of the port area 25 which is not covered by the shutter 45 and still furnish a certain amount of water, which however, is accompanied by a reduced amount of gas supplied to the burner 12, inasmuch as the piston 21 under these last-mentioned circumstances is not pushed down so far and therefore uncovers the gas ports 21'. to a lesser extent.

in order to enable the attendant to set the shutter at a predetermined position in accordance with the amount of heat desired iin amount of water. an indicating device is pro ded, which consists of a pointer 59 secure :o the hand wheel and adapted to traverse a scale or graduating segment i i mounted on the a-zjijaceut part of the receiver or other stationary support. as shown a Figs. 2, 3 and 4.

instead of utilizing my automatic conmechan sm in connection with a gas 01 water heaters, as shown in Figs. the same may be combined with an "c water heater, shown in Fig. 8. In this case .n electric heater 61 is arranged in the bottom of a tank which is supplied with water From the supply pipe 100 and provided with the discharge valve 641. The circuit oi the electric heater 61 includes an electric supply source 65, one pole of which connected with one end of the electric heater and the other pole of which is conn cted with a movable contact 66, and a rieostat or resistance coil 67, one end of whicn is connectedwith the opposite end oi the electric heater 61 and different sections of which are adapted to be engaged by the movable contact 66. The latter is connected with the the lower end of a shifting rod 68 which connected with the piston 26 of the automatic controlling mechanism, so that upon depressing this piston more or less a greater amount of the resistance coil will be cut out or cut into the electric circuit and thereby cause the electric heating element (3.1 to be supplied with more or less current for heating the water in the tank 62 either to a higher or a lower temperature, as desired.

It will be noted from the foregoing that this automatic controlling mechanism is wholly mechanical in its operation and is responsive to variations in the pressure of the water, which is supplied to the heater and that no thermostat is used for controlling the supply of heat for raising the temperature of the water.

It will be obvious from the foregoing that in this automatic controlling mechanism for water heaters, the organization is not such that when the delivery faucet of the water line is opened a full supply of gas is furnished regardless of whether the water valve is opened fully or only to a moderate extent, with the result that an undue amount of is consumed and a considerable amount of heat is wasted by reason of the heating of the water which is not drawn off, but left in the pipes after the discharge valve is closed. Nor has this automatic controlling mechanism a thermostat such as usually employed for operating a valve to check the flow of heating agent when a predetermined degree of temperature in the water hasbecn reached.

The present invention provides an automatic controlling'me'ehanism for this general purpose which dispenses with the use of a thermostat and a separate hand meter valve for checking "the flow of water in order to raise its temperature and instead employs means which respond to pressure of the fluid which is'being dispensed, which mechanism is so organized that the same can be adjustedat will for obtaining any desire'damount 'ofheat for a given amount of water drawn off, r r

Iclaimf'as my invention: I y

1. A controlling mechan'ism" c0mprising a cylinder having a water inlet at its front end and 'aftransfer port in its side, a receiver having a valved outlet and communieating with :the rear end of said cylinder and adapted'to communicate with the front end of said cylinder through said transfer port, a piston arran ed in said cylinder and adapted during its orward movement to uncover more or less of said transfer port, a by-pass valve arranged on said piston and adapted to be opened by a differential in water pressure on the front and rear side of said piston to permit water to pass from said cylinder into said receiver, means for yieldingly holding said piston in its forward position, means for transmitting motion from said piston to a heat controlling element, and means for varying the capacity of said transfer port comprising a shutter slidable circumferentially across said transfer port on the exterior of said cylinder, and means for shifting said shutter.

2. A controlling mechanism comprising a cylinder having a water inlet at its front end and a transfer port in its side, a receiver having a valved outlet and communicating with the rear end of said cylinder and adapted to communicate with the front end of said cylinder through said transfer port, a piston arranged in said cylinder and adapted during its forward movement to uncover more or less of said transfer port, a by-pass valve arranged on said piston and adapted to be opened by a differential in water pressure on the front and rear side of said piston to permit water to pass from said cylinder into said receiver, means for yieldingly holding said piston in its forward position, means for transmitting motion from said piston to a heat controlling element, and means for varying the capacity of said transfer port comprising a shutter slidable circumferentially across said transfer port on the exterior of said cylinder, and means for shifting said shutter from the exterior of said receiver.

3. A controlling mechanism comprising a cylinder having a water inlet at its front end and a plurality of transfer zport holes in its side, areeeiver having a valved outlet and communicating with the rear end of said cylinder and adapted to communicate with the front end of said cylinder through said transfer port, a piston arranged in said cylinder and adapted during its forward movement to uncover more or less of said transfer port, a by-pass valve arranged on said piston andadapted to be opened "by a differential in water pressure on the front and rear side of said piston to permit water to pass from said cylinder into said receiver, means for yieldingly holding said piston in its forward position, means for transmitting motion from said piston to a heat controlling element, a shutter guided on the exterior so as to move circumferentially thereon and adapted to covermore or less of said holes, means for shifting said shutter from the exterior of said receiver.

f. A controlling mechanism comprising a cylinder having a water inlet at its front end and a plurality of transfer port holes in its side, a receiver having a valved outlet and communicating with the rear end of said cylinder and adapted to communicate with the front end of said cylinder through said transfer port, a piston arranged in said cylinder and adapted during its forward. movement to uncover more or less of said transfer port, a bypass valve arranged on said piston and adapted to be opened by a differential in water pressure on the front and rear side of said piston to permit water to pass from said cylinder into said receiver, means for yieldingly holding said piston in its forward position, means for transmitting motion from said piston to a heat controlling element, a shutter guided on the exterior so as to move eircumferentially thereon and adapted to cover more or less of said holes, and means for shifting said shutter from the exterior of said receiver comprising a rock arm pivoted on said cylinder and connected with said shutter and a spindle journaled in a wall of said receiver and having its inner end coupled with said rock arm and its outer end provided with a handle.

5. A controlling mechanism comprising a cylinder having a water inlet at its front end and a plurality of transfer port holes in its side, a receiver having a valved outlet and communicating with the rear end of said cylinder and adapted to communicate with the front end of said cylinder through said transfer port, a piston arranged in said cylinder and adapted during its forward movement to uncover more or less of said transfer port, a by-pass valve arranged on said piston and adapted to be opened by a differential in water pressure on the front and rear side of said piston to permit water to pass from said cylinder into said receiver, means for yieldingly holding said piston in its forward position, means for transmitting motion from said piston to a heat controlling element, a shutter guided on the exterior so as to move circumferentially there on and adapted to cover more or less of said holes, means for shifting said shutter from the exterior of said receiver comprising a rock arm pivoted on said cylinder and connected with said shutter, and a spindle journaled in a wall of said receiver and having its inner end coupled with said rock arm and its outer end provided with a handle, and means on the exterior of the receiver for indicating the position of said shutter.

6. A controlling mechanism comprising a cylinder having a water inlet at its front end and a plurality of transfer port holes in its side, a receiver having a valved outlet and communicating with the rear end of said cylinder and adapted to communicate with the front end of said cylinder through said transfer port, a piston arranged in said cylinder and adapted during its forward movement to uncover more or less of said transfer port, a by-pass valve arranged on said piston and adapted to be opened by a differential in water pressure on the front motion from said piston to a heat control ling element, a shutter guided on the exterior so as to move circumferentially thereon and adapted to cover more or less of said holes, means for shifting said shutter from the exterior of said receiver comprising a rock arm pivoted on said cylinder and connected with said shutter, and a spindle journaled in a Wall of said receiver and having its inner end coupled with said rock arm and its outer end provided with a handle, and means on the exterior of the receiver for indicating the position of said shutter comprising a scale mounted on said receiver, and a pointer arranged on said spindle and traversing said scale.

HENRY J. PHILBIN. 

